When the Streets Are Empty
by Lil' Hedgepig
Summary: Ladybug and Chat Noir meet late in the evening for a routine patrol but the atmosphere of Paris is slightly slanted. It feels uncomfortable to them but they carry on. A game of tag leads to the discovery of an invisible danger that stalks them from the shadows without hope of the two heroes figuring it out.


**Author's Note:**

 _Hey, this is the entirety of a Miraculous roleplay I had on Shamchat before I lost connection to the other person. I recovered as much of the roleplay as I could and decided to post it here because I really enjoyed it. The person playing Ladybug goes by the tag of **colourful_wishes** on Instagram. So far, I haven't been able to get a hold of her so this might be the only chapter. Regardless, enjoy._

 **When the Streets Are Empty**

"Why, hello, Ladybug. How has your evening been?" he purred in greeting, having landed on the same rooftop as her after finishing up his rounds of patrol.

"It's been going well, thank you." She smiled at him."How's yours?"

"Much better now that with my bug-a-boo." He said. "Patrols have been slow. Have you seen anything out of the ordinary?"

She shook her head. "Everything seems to be in line. What about you? Seen anything?"

"Nothing, actually, the streets of Paris have been eerily empty."

She nodded, humming in agreement. "I don't know if this is good or bad. Do you think Hawkmoth's planning something?"

"I hope not. It's been a week and a half since our last encounter with an Akuma." He mused. "If he is, which is terrifying to think about, it has to be something major."

She sighed. "Yeah. That'll be a blast." She looked out at the city. "Well, we can't do anything about it. Looks like it's a free night."

"Yeah, I guess we just have to wait and see what musters up." He said. "At least we have the evening to ourselves now." He smirked softly. "Right, bug-a-boo?"

"Correct, Chat." She rolled her shoulders. "Any ideas of how to spend it?"

"Hmm, well, I've never really thought of things to do outside of our usual patrols and fights with akumas. I mean, it's not like we could show up to a public place without attracting unwanted attention."

"That's true..." She thought for a moment before her eyes lit up and she grinned. "I've got an idea."

He raised an eyebrow. "Alright, m'lady, I'm listening." Admittedly enough, he was intrigued.

She reached out and tapped his shoulder. "Tag! You're it!" She took out her yo-yo and leaped away.

He stood stupefied for a moment before his game-face went up. "Oh, this is war, bug-a-boo." He grinned cheekily before extending his baton and vaulting through the air after her, trying to stay as close to her as he could. Once he was in range, he extended his arm to her. "And... Ah... Tag!" he said finally.

"No!" She tightly spun around, and swung after him, keeping him within her sight. "How are you so fast!?" She mumbled to herself.

"Cat-like reflexes." He teased. "Oh, and an extendable baton." He cheered, vaulting high over a building.

She swung around it, just fast enough to catch him and tap him. "Tag!" She whipped around in the opposite direction and quickly swerved behind another building. She stopped and dove behind a box in a dark shadow, hoping to lose him.

Chat fell to the street and glanced around, his baton hanging loosely by his side. His night-piercing eyes glancing all around. "Oh, she's good." He murmured, taking a few steps around.

She held her breath, not wanting him to hear her. She heard him land nearby, and she stiffened and began glancing around for an escape route if she needed one.

Although, it would seem she had been one step ahead of her kitty. He loosely glanced around with a puzzled expression on his features. After a moment, he frowned. It was at that moment that he got low to the ground and let his ears perk up, concentrating.

She listened, but couldn't hear his footsteps anymore. She'd worked with Chat for a long time but still didn't know what moves he'd make. He could be looking right at her, for all she knew. She remained silently in her spot, deciding to stay for a few more minutes, just in case.

After a moment of quiet, she would hear a soft sniffing sound that would slowly grow closer. Chat was playfully on all-fours as he slowly made his way into the alley. Admittedly, this alleyway was a complete guess and it showed somewhat in how careful he moved. A soft smile was on his face.

She wanted to look. Her natural instincts screamed at her to look. It took all of her mental and physical power to keep herself still. After a long moment, she shuffled, her stillness breaking. She froze, knowing that she'd probably given away her spot. She still hadn't found a getaway yet.

He glanced up quickly at the around, his head tilted in curiosity. He watched, almost perfectly still himself now but Chat's attention was diverted from behind him, the sound of hurried footsteps going off away from him. He rose, thinking it to be Ladybug, and headed back to the front of the alleyway. "Ah! How'd you manage to give me the slip?" He wondered aloud, preparing his baton to vault away after the footsteps.

She grew confused. Who was Chat speaking to? She edged her way around the box, peeking to see.

He heard the footsteps stall not too far off down the street and he vaulted down the length of the street to where he believed the footsteps had stopped. He believed they detoured into another alley to hide. Chat could be seen from the front of the alley that Ladybug was hiding in. "Alright, m'lady." His voiced echoed down the empty street, a silly grin on his face. "You might as give up now that I have you." He said. He still honestly believed he was tracking Ladybug.

She slowly looked over the box, confusion completely overflowing from her. She heard a thud and flinched. She tried not to laugh. He'd most likely just caught a random pedestrian. She quickly dove behind another box, trying to see if he was actually still there. His voice was a little echoey.

She could now clearly see Chat peering into another alleyway down the street, his baton ready and feet carefully stepping into the alleyway before him. He didn't step very far in before he stood stupidly confused for a moment, glancing around. Again, the quick patter of feet was heard but it was much farther now. Chat looked distraught, a little uneasy as well. Ladybug would have replied to him at this point if he had her cornered, not run farther away from him. Maybe he hadn't been after Ladybug but then who else could have been out here? "Ladybug?" He tried, heading to an intersection now, looking in the direction of the echoing footsteps. "Hey, alright, you win!"

She quickly rose from her spot and padded out of her hiding place. She blinked at him. "I win? Yay!" She smiled, then looked around. "Who was that?"

Chat turned, genuinely confused to see her, "You mean that wasn't you, bug-a-boo?" he wondered, "I-I thought... I don't know now. I was sure it was you."

She adjusted her weight uneasily. "Let's go... If someone's following us, they'll reveal themselves when we're in the air. Let's head to the Eiffel Tower. Sound like a plan?" She looked around, a little agitated.

"Oh, good idea." He said. "Let's stick together, please. That startled me a little more than I thought. Remember when I mention the streets being eerie? I'm pretty sure that was an understatement." He prepared his baton and watched for her to get ready.

She pulled out her yo-yo, her shoulders tensing. She looked around for one more moment. "Yeah... I think it was. Let's go..."

He vaulted into the air in the direction of the Eiffel Tower, like they agreed, his eyes scanning the streets below for any sign of the source. So far, though, no results and this troubled Chat greatly.

She stuck close to Chat, probably looking like a nervous flying rabbit, with all the twitching. She held onto her yo-yo tightly, getting ready for an attack she wasn't really sure would come.

He came to a stop on a building just across from the Eiffel Tower, lit up with a beautiful array as it was every evening. Still, he was unnerved and when Ladybug landed beside him, he instinctively stepped close to her. "Hmm, I'm afraid if this continues, I might not sleep tonight when I get home." He said softly as if he was fearful that someone was listening to them.

"I don't think we will be able to go home tonight, Chat..." She managed to choke out, pulling her hands close to her chest. "If someone's tailing us... They'll find out our identities..." She gazed around nervously.

Chat turned. "You know that won't happen." He said. "We'll figure this out, don't worry."

Ladybug shifted, slightly unnerved. "I know, Chat, let's just head to the tower... Quickly... Please."

He nodded and extended his baton, vaulting across the expansion and landing on the platform of the Eiffel Tower on all-fours. He rose and turned to see that she made it safely across.

She landed next to him, re-wrapping her yo-yo and glancing over the edge of the railing. "See anything at all?"

Chat frowned, his fingers drumming against the top of the metal bar. He scanned the courtyard below for any sign of movement or something out of the ordinary but with little luck. He sighed, "Nothing."

Ladybug straightened out, trying to relax but she instead tensed up at the sound of the hurried footsteps echoing all around them and then dead silence. She shook gently, suffering from the suspense.

Chat was too focused so it was a surprise when he heard the loud shockwave of noise that came from sparks that ignited to life near the base of the tower, not unlike fireworks. It was enough to shake the tower, but not enough to topple it. The smoke cleared and stillness and silence returned.

She was trembling, her eyes watering a little. The sparks had freaked her out, almost equal to the footsteps. She slid her arm held by Chat so she was now holding his hand. Her heart hammered against her chest, her panic slowly rising. "Wh-what was that?"

"I-I don't know." Chat admitted, somewhat torn. He knew he had to get to the bottom of this and fast but the state of Ladybug was so much more important to him. He looked at her, his own expression forlorn and exhausted now. They had started out so happy and playful this evening but now the both of them were terrified. He stepped so he stood in front of her, his hand still in hers. He tilted his head down, taking her other hand." Ladybug, don't break down." He said softly, trying to seem strong, but he swallowed. "Hang in there, bug-a-boo. No matter what, I'm gonna be right here with you." As he said this, a cackle could be heard in the distance. Chat tensed up but tried to focus just on Ladybug right now. "I'm right here." He tried, though the fear was vivid as the darkness of the streets around them.

She flinched at the sound, almost pulling herself away on instinct, but she forced herself to stay still. She shut her eyes for a long moment, before taking in a deep, shaky breath. "Okay. I'm okay. I'm fine." She opened them again. "I'm not going to break down... Don't worry."

He nodded, placing his forehead gently against hers. He smiled at her after a moment and stepped to glance around them. "What little school-children you are." A high-pitched voice yet masculine voice carried on the air. Chat glanced around. "Heh, you might have that wrong. Why don't you come over here and we'll show you where you made your mistake?"

Ladybug looked around nervously but held her tongue. She steadied herself, her eyes wide. She was tired, and scared, but she'd promised Chat that she wouldn't break down, so she wouldn't. She kept his hand held tightly in hers.

"I have no time for that." The voice carried. "I have done my portion of the work tonight so go home, cat and bug, you'll need all the rest you can get for later evenings down the road. I just wanted to get the chance to meet you and I must say, you give an impression much different than I expected." Chat frowned visibly. "You can't just walk away after doing this to us! You coward!" Chat called in frustration but he received no answer. Everything was still. It seemed that they were alone again.

She sighed, and sank to the ground. She pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and hiding her face. She began to tremble again.

Chat, after a moment, retracted his baton and lowered himself so he was beside her. He sat with a look of hopelessness on his features. "Ladybug, I..." he started before tapering off. He felt a lump in his throat and didn't want to speak anymore so he sat still for a few moments, ready to cry for her. After a moment, he shifted and wrapped her arms around her considerately, thinking of it to be the only way to make the both of them feel anything remotely close to being safe.

She leaned into him, welcoming the warmth of the hug. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." She choked out, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. "I shouldn't be so scared... I'm just... Sorry..."

He shook his head gently, hushing her softly. "No, no, you don't have to be sorry." He said, rubbing her hand up and down her back affectionately. "I'm terrified too, just... This wasn't supposed to happen but it did. And now we... No, let's not think about that right now." He decided.

"I'm afraid to go home, Chat..." She sat up and looked him in the eyes. "What if they find me? What if they hurt my family? And they'll also go after you... And they'll probably hurt you too..." She trailed off and brushed away some of her tears.

"No-one is going to hurt you or your family, Ladybug." He said. "Not while I'm around. I worried sick too but you can't give into this fear. My gut says that it's exactly what he wants." He took a moment to bow his head, laying the side of it against the top of her head. "We don't have to go straight home. We still have a few hours until the sun starts to rise." He said. "I know you're tired so try and sleep right here if you can. I'll stay here and make sure no-one gets anywhere near you if you do decide to do that."

She shook her head. "I want to stay awake... I don't even think that I can sleep..." She sighed, and leaned into him again. "Do you think that this is caused by Hawkmoth...?"

"I don't know... He might be... It's hard to tell... I mean, this was a calculated encounter, not some rage-driven chance. Perhaps Hawkmoth has a viable accomplice now? Maybe even this guy is completely independent of Hawkmoth. I don't know." He kept his arms tucked warmly around her, even rocking her gently now. "It's something we'll figure out in time," he whispered softly. "We just have to be patient and alert."

She thought about what he said for a moment, then nodded. "Patience is my middle name... I mean, I've had to survive your unnecessary cat puns..." She giggled a little.

He smirked. "Well, they do tend to be the best remedy for when you're feline down, you know." He laughed a little, hugging her close to him. "You can survive anything, Ladybug, you're just that wonderful."

"You're pretty wonderful, too, Chat." She sighed in content. "Simply paw-some."

He smirked. "Ah, you're picking up on them, like I always thought you would." He said. "Meow when you want to learn more of them."

She giggled. "Alright, kitten... I'll 'meow'..." She yawned, and stretched her arms out in front of her a little.

"I told you that were tired, bug-a-boo." He said, half-cradling her at this point. "Why don't you try and rest. We can head back to our respective homes when the sun starts to rise."

She sighed, and nodded. "I guess... you're right." She slowly closed her eyes, and she breathed in a long sigh.

He smiled. "I'll be right here to make sure no-one bothers you." He whispered softly, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Sleep well, milady."

Slowly, she drifted off to sleep, with a small smile on her lips. "Thanks, chaton..."


End file.
